Support structure for road signs

ABSTRACT

A support structure for a road warning sign comprising a pair of elongated hinged crossbar members having support leg members pivotally connected thereto at their ends, said support leg members being adapted to be swung outwardly and downwardly from a folded location along the crossbar members to a ground engaging position whereby said hingedly connected crossbar members close to secure therebetween a sheet material road sign.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

THIS INVENTION relates to a support structure for road warning signssuch as "WORKMEN AHEAD" signs and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional signs of this type at present in use are fixedly mounted onrelatively small diameter spindly metal legs, have an inherent highcentre of gravity and as such are susceptible to being blown over by thewind or by the suction induced by passing vehicles.

Furthermore as these known supports and signs are permanently fixedtogether it has been necessary in the past to provide the combination ofsupport and sign for each different sign.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a support structurefor a road warning sign which has a configuration providing a relativelylow centre of gravity, is not susceptible to being blown over and whichcan singly mount any desired sign in a simple yet effective releasablelocking manner thereby greatly reducing the cost of a multiplicity ofsupport structures with various fixed signs and greatly reducing thetransporting space required by road working gangs.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a supportstructure for a road warning sign which may be folded into a compactconfiguration when not in use to minimum packaging and handlingrequirements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a support structure for aroad warning sign comprising a pair of elongated crossbar membershingedly connected on the underside thereof, socket members securedadjacent each end of said crossbar members, support leg memberspivotally mounted in said socket members so as to extend downwards andoutwards of and substantially normal to the plane of said crossbarmembers in a ground engaging position and foldable along said crossbarmembers in a demountable position whereby when said leg members areswung outwardly to a ground engaging position said hingedly connectedcrossbar members close to secure therebetween a sheet material roadsign.

According to a further feature of the invention the legs of a pair ofleg members pivotally mounted at one end of the crossbar members areoffset along part of their length so as to nest in compact form with theother pair of leg members when folded to the demountable position.

According to another feature of the invention, a pair of leg memberspivotally mounted at each end of the crossbar members are pivotallymounted in their socket members at a distance from the crossbar membersgreater than the distance of the pivotal mounting of the other pair ofleg members so as to nest against said other pair of leg members incompact form when the structure is folded to the demountable position.

In order that the invention and its manner of performance may be morefully understood reference will now be made to embodiments of theinvention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the support structurewith a road sign located thereon;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the support structure of FIG. 1 showing the legmembers on one side in extended ground engaging position and both setsof leg members in demountable folded position in broken line;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the support structure of FIG. 1 showing themounting of the support leg members;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an end of the support structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional end view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an end view taken along the line 7--7 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the end of the support structure illustrated inFIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1 to 5 of the drawings the road sign support structureof this illustrated embodiment comprises a pair of elongated angularcrossbar members 5 hingedly connected at 6 and comprising substantiallyhorizontal extending bar members 7 having outwardly extending angledmembers 8 at the upper ends thereof.

Sockets 9 are attached, as by welding, at the ends of the crossbarmembers 5 between the bar members 7 and the angle members 8 which formlocating jaws for a road sign. Sockets 9 are of U-shaped configuration,closed on the outer sides thereof at 10 and open on their inwardlyfacing sides at 11.

Support legs 12 and 13 are pivotally mounted in sockets 9 on pins 14 soas to be movable inwards along crossbar members 5 to a foldeddemountable nesting configuration of the support structure into acompact minimum package for transporting purposes as shown in brokenline in the upper part of FIG. 2.

In use, the support structure with the leg members 12 and 13 extendingoutwardly and downwardly therefrom is positioned on the ground so as toprovide a clearance between bar members 7 at their upper ends to allowinsertion of a road sign plate or the like 15 therebetween whereby onfurther outward movement of leg members 12 and 13, the road sign issecurely and effectively gripped between members 7 with the weight ofthe support structure and the outwardly splayed angle of the supportlegs firmly locking the road sign in the structure with a leverageeffect.

The two support leg members 13 have an offset configuration to allowthem to be hinged inwardly over leg members 12 when the road sign isremoved and the support structure is collapsed into a compact packagedform.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8 of the drawings, the road sign structure ofthis illustrated embodiment is basically similar in function to theembodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5 and comprises a pair of elongated angularcrossbar members 16 hingedly connected at 17 and comprisingsubstantially horizontally extending bar members 18 having outwardlyangled members 19 at the upper ends thereof.

Sockets 20 and 21 are attached, as by welding, at the ends of thecrossbar members 16 between the bar members 18 and the angle members 19which form locating jaws for a road sign. Sockets 20 and 21 are of aU-shaped configuration, closed on the outer side thereof at 22 and openon their inwardly facing sides at 23.

Two pairs of support legs 24 and 25 are pivotally mounted in sockets 20and 21 on pins 26 and 27 so as to be movable inwards along crossbarmembers 16 to a folded demountable nesting configuration of the supportstructure into a compact minimum package for transporting purposes asshown in FIG. 5.

In use, the support structure with the leg members 24 and 25 pivotedoutwardly and downwardly therefrom is positioned on the ground so as toprovide a clearance between bar members 18 at their upper ends to allowinsertion of a road road plate or the like 28 therebetween whereby onfurther outward movement of leg members 24 and 25, the road sign iseffectively gripped between bar members 18 with the weight of thesupport structure and the outwardly splayed angle of the support legsfirmly locking the road sign in the structure with a leverage effect.

The pivot pins 26 of support legs 24 are located in sockets 20 at adistance from their bar member 18 greater than the distance of pivotpins 27 of support legs 25 from their bar member 18 so as to allowsupport legs 24 to be pivoted inwardly over support legs 25 when theroad sign is removed and the support structure is collapsed into acompact packaged form.

Tubular holders 29 may be provided at the ends of the support structurefor locating the poles or sticks of conventional warning flags or thelike. Holders 29 may also be incorporated in the structure of FIGS. 1 to4.

It will be appreciated that various types of road sign sheets or platescan be used in the support structure of the invention, the signs beingreplaced with a minimum of effort.

The structure of the invention may be conveniently constructed in metalor a suitable plastics material.

I claim:
 1. A support structure for a road warning sign comprisinga pairof elongated crossbar members hingedly connected on their undersides forlocating a sheet material road sign therebetween, socket members securedadjacent each end of each of said crossbar members, support legspivotally mounted in said socket members so as to extend downwardly andoutwardly of and substantially normal to the plane of said crossbarmembers in a ground engaging position and foldable along said crossbarmembers in a demountable position whereby, when said leg members areswung outwardly to said ground engaging position, said hingedlyconnected crossbar members close, under the weight of the supportstructure and the leverage effect of the outwardly extending groundengaging legs, to secure between said crossbar members a lower edge of asheet material road sign.
 2. A support structure according to claim 1wherein the legs of a pair of leg members pivotally mounted at one endof the crossbar members are offset along part of their length so as tonest in compact form with the other pair of leg members when folded tothe demountable position.
 3. A support structure according to claim 1wherein one of a pair of said leg members pivotally mounted at each endof each said crossbar member is pivotally mounted in its socket memberat a distance from said crossbar member greater than the distance fromthe crossbar members of the pivotal mounting of the other of said pairof leg members so as to nest against said other leg against saidcrossbar member in compact form when the structure is folded to thedemountable position.
 4. A support structure according to claim 3wherein said socket members are of U-shaped configuration, closed ontheir sides facing outwardly from the ends of said crossbar members andopen on their sides facing inwardly from the ends of said crossbarmembers.
 5. A support structure according to claim 4 wherein each saidcrossbar member comprises a horizontally extending upstanding bar havingan outwardly angled upper edge.
 6. A support structure according toclaim 5 wherein said socket members are secured to and between said barsand said outwardly angled upper edges.
 7. A support structure accordingto claim 2 wherein said socket members are of U-shaped configuration,closed on their sides facing outwardly from the ends of said crossbarmembers and open on their sides facing inwardly from the ends of saidcrossbar members.
 8. A support structure according to claim 7 whereineach said crossbar member comprises a horizontally extending upstandingbar having an outwardly angled upper edge.
 9. A support member accordingto claim 8 wherein said socket members are secured to and between saidbars and said outwardly angled upper edges.
 10. A support structureaccording to claim 1 wherein said socket members are of U-shapedconfiguration, closed on their sides facing outwardly from the ends ofsaid crossbar members and open on their sides facing inwardly from theends of said crossbar members.
 11. A support structure according toclaim 10 wherein each said crossbar member comprises a horizontallyextending upstanding bar having outwardly angled upper edge.
 12. Asupport member according to claim 11 wherein said socket members aresecured to and between said bars and said outwardly angled upper edges.13. A support structure for a road warning sign comprisinga pair ofelongated crossbar members having upper and lower edges, means forhingedly connecting said lower edges so that said crossbars arepivotable between a closed position, in which a lower edge of a sheetmaterial road sign is gripped between said crossbar members, and an openposition; two pairs of socket members, one of each of said pairs ofsocket members attached to each end of one of said crossbar members; asupport leg pivotally mounted in each of said socket members, each saidleg being pivotable between a ground engaging position in which said legextends downwardly and outwardly of and substantially normal to a planecontaining one of said crossbar members and a folded position in whichsaid leg extends generally parallel with said crossbar member whereby,when said leg members are swung outwardly to said ground engagingposition, said legs urge said hingedly connected crossbar members tosaid closed position, and substantially continuously clamp said loweredge of said sheet material sign between said crossbars under the weightof the support structure and the leverage effect of the outwardlyextending ground-engaging legs.